Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,
with gratitude in your hearts to God
(Colossians 3:16, HCSB, formatting mine).
The following anthem by John Rutter, "For the Beauty of the Earth," has been one of my very favorite choral anthems ever since a children's choir in which my sister took part sang it in the rotunda of the Texas Capitol. (For those who have not been there, the acoustics resemble those of a grand old church.) I was in junior high then, and the piece has only grown in my affections since.
This morning this song bubbled up in me, seemingly from nowhere or perhaps from the beauty around us, as Ebony and I strolled by the pond in the newly brisk autumn air. To have it stuck in my head seemed apt in light of Thanksgiving in the U.S. next week, all the more so since making music is one of my native expressions of gratitude. I pray it pours a bit more thanksgiving to the Lord of all into your own heart as you listen.
How about you? How do you express your gratitude to God? Do you have any special practice for Thanksgiving (or otherwise) to facilitate this? It would be my pleasure to learn from you in the comments.
(If Rutter's work is new to you and you'd like to hear more, this link sends you to the John Rutter YouTube playlist, and this one links to the Amazon page for the album I own which includes the song mentioned in the post. This Christmas album is also delightful.)
